3. Simon O’Donnell (Australia – Reliance World Cup 1987)
Simon O’Donnell was not just a cricketer, he was a multi-talented athlete. As a cricketer, Simon O’Donnell was a valuable Australian all-rounder who was right-handed attacking batsman and right-arm fast medium bowler. He was one of the important Australian players in the 1987 Reliance World Cup, where Australia became a champion in that tournament for the first time. However, Simon didn’t much contributed with his bat in that tournament but contributed greatly as a bowler by picking up 9 wickets in the 7 matches. He was the third most wicket-taker bowler for Australia in that tournament but the best part was he was the most economical bowler for Australia in that tournament. At the end of that tournament, he was diagnosed with cancer but later he made a strong recovery and also made a comeback in the ODI cricket.
Simon O’Donnell made debut in the international cricket at the age of 22 (in the year 1985) and played international cricket until the age of 28 (in the year 1991) where he played 6 Tests and 87 ODIs for Australia. He didn’t get many chances in Test cricket but put some good contributions in ODIs with his batting and bowling.
